Less than seven days after the last Grand Prix held in Portimão and which saw Bagnaia dominate the race and Ducati claim its third constructors’ title in MotoGP, the Ducati Lenovo Team is ready to hit the track again in Spain for the final round. of the 2021 season at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Cheste: the Valencian Community Grand Prix.
The track located near Valencia, one of the shortest on the calendar, has seen Ducati obtain 11 podiums so far, the last one last year with Jack Miller, second with the Pramac Racing Team’s Desmosedici GP. In total, the Bolognese company has won three victories on the Spanish track. The first dates back to 2006, when Troy Bayliss, newly graduated Superbike world champion, won the Grand Prix by taking part in the race to replace Sete Gibernau, who was injured. The second success dates back to 2008 with Casey Stoner, while the third, the most recent, to 2018 with Andrea Dovizioso.
Fresh from a fantastic weekend in Portimão, Pecco Bagnaia arrives in Valencia determined to close the last race of the season with a victory. The Italian rider, who with last week’s success has already secured the second position in the championship, will aim to repeat himself again this weekend and bring the number of victories obtained so far in MotoGP to 4.
“After the weekend in Portimão I feel really energized to tackle the last race of the season as well. In the last GP in Portugal everything was perfect. Since Friday we were able to be fast and we didn’t have to make any particular set-up changes to the motorcycles, so I hope the same will happen here in Valencia “, said Bagnaia.
“This is a track that I really like and, in 2020, here I was back to having positive sensations on my Desmosedici after two difficult Grands Prix in Aragón. This year, however, we arrive in Valencia at a particular moment, in which everything is going really well and my feeling with the bike is great. I’m ready to fight for the victory again and try to win the team title after the constructors’ title I won last week “, he added.
Jack Miller, third in Portimão, is also aiming to continue his positive trend and close the 2021 season with another important result. After last Sunday’s race, the Australian driver is now fourth in the overall standings, and will have to try to defend his position from his teammate Johann Zarco, who is only 2 points behind in fifth position.
“Getting back on the podium in Portimão was really nice and now the goal will be to be able to finish the season in the best possible way fighting for another good result in Valencia. I’m really excited to be back racing here this weekend. It’s a very good track. fun and perhaps one of my favorites on the calendar. The characteristics of the Ducati are well suited to this track and last year I came very close to winning, so this year I’ll try again. After the constructors’ title, here we have a chance to win also the title as best team, so I will do everything to help my team reach this milestone as well! “said Miller.
This Sunday will also be decisive for the championship reserved for teams, which sees the Ducati Lenovo Team leading the standings with a 28-point advantage.
Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team, Jack Miller, Ducati Team celebrate with the team member
Photo by: Ducati Corse
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